The tidal wave of compact crossovers continues with the Seat Arona landing on forecourts this week.

It's been available to order for some weeks, but now you can climb into one and check it out for yourself at your local dealership.

The Arona uses the platform from the current Ibiza, adding in the high driving position and other goodies that have made compact crossovers so desirable.

But what do you get for your money, apart from a smaller version of the impressive SEAT Ateca SUV?

Well, you get a rather nice slice of the compact crossover status symbol: a funky-looking, modern, well-designed and well-built small SUV.

It's more than just a shrunken Ateca - the very latest Ibiza technology has been packed on board, so, if anything, it is slightly more modern than the Ateca.

First off, though, don't let the comparison with the Ibiza fool you. The Arona - it's named after a region of Tenerife around Playa de las Americas, by the way - is roomier than you might expect.

Occupant headroom is good front and rear, and the boot has a decent 400-litre storage capacity, which rises to 823 litres when the rear seats are laid flat.

Parents in particular will be pleased with the cubbyholes and other storage options dotted around the cabin.

It comes in a range of bright new colours - including Desire Red and Mystery Blue - and up to 30 different combinations for contrasting finishes on the lower body and roof and pillars (roof colours are black, grey and orange).

Seat Arona

Under the bonnet, there's a good choice of engines, starting off with the entry-level 1.0-litre turbo petrol unit in either 94 or 114 bhp guises, mated to a choice of gearboxes, all sending power to the front wheels only.

After this, there are economical diesel choices and a powerful 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol turbo only available in sporty FR-spec cars. All the engines in the range feature direct injection, turbocharging and stop-start technology.

The trim choice is wide - six, to be precise - dovetailing with other Seats with SE, FR and Xcellence, but with each expanded into additional versions that add in more equipment, namely SE Technology, FR Sport and Xcellence Lux.

There are a raft of safety and driver assistance features also, including front assist, multi-collision braking, hill hold control, a tiredness recognition system and a full complement of front-side-curtain airbags.

As you'd expect, SE Technology plugs in even more tech including an 8-inch colour screen, Apple and Android phone connectivity and a wireless phone charger.

Seat is known for its sporty FR brand, and Arona FR trim adds in a suite of hot hatch-style extras like 18-inch Performance alloys, sports-tuned suspension and Seat Drive Profile, which lets the driver adjust performance and handling through four different modes: Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual.